Claire Williams reflects on F1 turnaround in past two years - MotorSportsTalk

BIRMINGHAM – Claire Williams believes that there was no luck involved in the turnaround that has seen Williams Martini Racing move from the bottom of the midfield towards the top of the Formula 1 pecking order in the past two years.

After enduring a barren run of form that saw the team finish no higher than sixth in the constructors’ championship between 2008 and 2013, Williams has since resurged to come third in both 2014 and 2015.

Drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa (pictured) have forged a good partnership and enjoy strong working relationships with the team, while the car design has been complemented well by the Mercedes power unit.

Speaking at the Autosport International show in Birmingham, England on Saturday, deputy team principal Williams spoke about the team’s revival and said how it made a conscious decision in 2013 to make a fresh start in many areas.

“I think where we were in 2011, 2012, 2013, we finished I think ninth, eighth and ninth, and then the past two consecutive years, just two years after that, we have taken third in the constructors’ championship against teams which have much bigger budgets with far greater resources and personnel,” Williams said.

“We’ve managed to hold our ground and take third. We’ve done the most extraordinary transformation at Williams and I always say it’s not by luck. People say ‘you’re so lucky, you know, everything turning around at Williams’. It was not by luck, it was by design.

“Everybody really got on board with the transformation there, the board and the executive committee at Williams needed to undertake and bring in change. You can’t just keep go racing hoping things will be different.”

However, Williams believes that the team faces an even greater challenge now as it tries to bridge the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari at the front of the pack in F1.

“The hardest piece of the puzzle really is now,” Williams said. “How do we close the gap to the Ferraris and the Mercedes and fight for a championship?

“Turning around when you’re doing so badly, you’ve obviously got so many things wrong in your organisation, you know what they are, you’ve got to change them.

“But this is the hardest piece of work for us now, moving forwards.”

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The NTT IndyCar Series will head to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for its first oval race of the season and a preview of its biggest race.

After Sunday’s PPG 375 at Texas, the next oval on the schedule is May 28 with the 107th running of the Indy 500. Chip Ganassi Racing dominated last year’s 500-miler at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after placing all four of its Dallara-Hondas in the top 10 at Texas.

The Dallara-Chevrolets of Team Penske also will be heavy favorites at Texas. Josef Newgarden passed teammate Scott McLaughlin on the final lap for the victory last year as Penske took three of the top four (with defending series champion Will Power in fourth).

Texas marks the first of five oval races for IndyCar, which also will visit Iowa Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. There are 28 drivers entered for the 36th IndyCar race at Texas, the series’ most at the track since 30 in June 2011.

Scott Dixon has a series-high five victories at Texas, mostly recently in May 2021. Helio Castroneves (four wins), Newgarden (two) and Power (two) also are multiple winners at Texas.

Here are the details and IndyCar start times for the PPG 375 race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway (all times are ET):

INDYCAR PPG 375 TEXAS START TIMES

TV: Sunday, noon ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe (whose first career IndyCar victory came at St. Petersburg 10 years ago).

Marty Snider and Dave Burns are the pit reporters. Telemundo Deportes on Universo will provide a Spanish-language telecast. Click here for the full NBC Sports schedule for IndyCar in 2023.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying and Indy NXT races. (Click here for information on how to sign up for Peacock.)

COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 12:10 p.m. ET

GREEN FLAG: 12:15 p.m. ET

POSTRACE SHOW ON PEACOCK: After the race’s conclusion, an exclusive postrace show will air on Peacock with driver interviews, postrace analysis and the podium presentation. To watch the extended postrace show, click over to the special stream on Peacock after the race ends.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for practices and qualifying.

INDYCAR RADIO NETWORK: The IndyCar and Indy Lights races and all practices and qualifying sessions will air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the IndyCar app.

PRACTICE: Saturday sessions at 9 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. (Peacock Premium), 1:45 p.m.

PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II

QUALIFYING: Saturday, 12:15 p.m. (Peacock Premium)

STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the grid at Texas

RACE DISTANCE: The race is 250 laps (375 miles) on a 1.5-mile oval in Fort Worth, Texas

TIRE ALLOTMENT: Eleven primary sets to be used during practice, qualifying and the race. An extra set will be available to cars in the high-line practice session.

FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 67 degrees with a 71% chance of rain at the green flag.

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 28 cars entered